BUSINESS RISK MANAGEMENT IS MORE THAN SAFETY EMPLOYMENT LAW FOR OWNERS/OPERATORS By Edwin G. Foulke, Jr.
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, a small group of large employers started to discuss safety and its role in business, and that discussion continued to grow throughout the 20th century. However, it was not until the enactment of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA), during the Nixon administration, that the need for safety and the implementation of safety policies and procedures became more formalized. It was around this time that safety started to become one of the measures of success for U.S. businesses and employers. As the focus on safety increased with more employers throughout the country, greater emphasis was placed on risks associated with potential safety and health hazards. Thus, a spotlight was cast on those workplace injuries, illnesses, and possible fatalities that could dramatically (or traumatically) increase the risk to a company’s equity, shareholder value, as well as the risk of penalties, fines, and even plant shutdowns. As those concerns continued to grow, the outcome was the development and analysis by employers (or at least by the employer’s insurance carrier) of “risk management.” The foundation of risk management centers on identifying the risk and, once it is identified, assessing the potential risk impact on the company and, finally, prioritizing the risk from a business and, to a certain degree, an economic standpoint. Specifically, safety risk management determines the need for, and the adequacy of the, risk controls based on the assessment of an acceptable risk.
MAY/JUN 2015
BWR
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